Lower Myall River Project Update

The dredge has arrived in Hawks Nest/Tea Gardens to commence the opening of the eastern channel of the lower Myall River.

It will take a few days for the component parts of the dredge to be assembled and lowered into the water, reported the Great Lakes Council.

“Excavation work commenced in mid-June on this long-awaited project with the removal of  sand above the high tide mark from the site of the proposed new channel opening. To date, the dredging contractor has removed approximately 34,000 cubic meters of sand to create the initial channel through the Winda Woppa sand spit” said Council’s Natural Assets Officer, Drew Morris.

The next stage of the project is to pump sand from the channel and deposit it at Jimmys Beach to rebuild the beach and protect The Boulevarde. After this is complete, sand will be dredged to another erosion spot on the beach west of Barnes Rock, and the remainder of the sand pumped from the channel will be stockpiled on Winda Woppa spit.

In total, approximately 56,000 cubic meters of sand is expected to be dredged from the channel in addition to the sand already removed.

The dredging contractor is currently assembling the temporary pipe that will be used to pump sand from the proposed dredge channel to these areas.

While works are progressing, the Council is also working on the design of the proposed sand transport system for the ongoing nourishment of Jimmys Beach.

The overall lower Myall River project has been funded by the Australian Government, NSW Department of Primary Industry (Crown Lands) and NSW Office of Environment and Heritage as well as Great Lakes Council.

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